JPH0716195B2 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Use) The present invention is an HA that electrically connects a plurality of terminal devices and a plurality of controllers by connecting household electrical appliances as terminals to a common transmission path. In a (home automation) system, the present invention relates to a communication method and device having excellent data reliability.

(Prior Art) In a conventional HA system, as a communication device of an HA (home automation) system that organically connects a plurality of controllers with a plurality of terminal devices such as an air conditioner, a home bus, etc., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-142431 As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication, an address set in each terminal device is included in the control signal transmitted from the controller, and when transmitting, there is no transmission signal from another controller or another terminal. After confirming that, a control signal is sent to multiple terminals via a common transmission line, and the terminal device receives only the signal that matches the set address, and thereby controls that are distinguished from other terminal devices. There is something you can do. With such a communication device, it has become possible to freely select, from a plurality of terminal devices, to stop, start, or leave the operation of some terminal devices.

In addition, a plurality of communication devices simultaneously transmit and receive by a single synchronization signal in a common transmission path submitted by the applicant of the present application, and the data to be communicated includes a communication destination and communication contents and can be distinguished. There are inventions of a communication system having a format and a device using this system.

As shown in FIG. 5, this device uses a synchronization signal generating means 11 for generating a synchronization signal for determining the start of signal transmission / reception at regular time intervals, and a synchronization signal from the synchronization signal generating means 11 for communication data. Switching means 12 for deciding whether or not transmission is possible prior to the transmission, and transmission means 13 for sending the communication data from the logical operation means 16 to the transmission line only after receiving the synchronization signal.
A receiving means 14 for receiving the communication data transmitted to this transmission path, a synchronization signal discriminating means 18 for discriminating the received communication data from the synchronization signal, and a synchronization signal from the synchronization signal discriminating means 18 Logic operation means 16 having the following means whose timing is determined, that is, data conversion means 21 that connects terminal equipment and transmission means 13 and converts data from the terminal equipment into distinguishable data, reception from reception means 14 The data decoding means 22 for decoding the communication data, the display output means 23 for outputting the data from the data decoding means 22 to the display device for displaying the data, and the data from the data decoding means 22 determine whether the data can be output to the terminal device. A communication device comprising a means (24) and a data output means (25) for outputting data to the terminal equipment only when output is possible by the means (24) for determining whether to output to the terminal equipment. It

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In recent years, the development of HA systems has been remarkable in response to the tendency for comfort in life, and the types of electrical appliances used there have been increasing.

According to the conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-142431, it has become possible to freely stop, start, and leave some terminal devices operating. However, signals sent from the controller and other terminals can be used. Since it can be known only after the operation state of the terminal device is transmitted after confirming that there is no operation state transmission signal from the device, it takes time to instruct the operation and to know the result.

Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time if it is possible to simultaneously transmit and receive by one synchronization signal and to distinguish from which device the communication is made, but as the type of electrical equipment used increases, the circuit to be controlled If a signal indicating that the communication performed by the controlled device is normal is sent when the reliability of the communicated data is impaired due to a temporary drop in the power supply voltage of In some cases, a control signal is sent while ignoring the normal operation of the electric appliance and the safety of the operation, resulting in a serious accident.

The present invention solves such a problem, enables simultaneous transmission and reception with a single synchronization signal, can increase the communication speed between a plurality of controllers and a plurality of terminal devices, and is excellent in data reliability. Communication system and device.

(Means for Solving Problems) The present invention has a plurality of communication devices and a common transmission line,
In a communication method in which a plurality of communication devices simultaneously transmit and receive by one synchronization signal, the data to be communicated includes a communication destination and communication content, and has a distinguishable format,
All of the plurality of communication devices transmit and receive a signal indicating the end of communication after the end of communication, and determine that there is normal communication only when the time elapsed from the synchronization signal is within a certain range. And a device used for this communication method, which generates a synchronization signal for determining the start of signal transmission / reception at fixed time intervals.
And a switching means 12 for determining whether or not the synchronization signal from the synchronization signal generating means 11 can be transmitted prior to communication data.
And a transmitting means 13 for transmitting the communication data from the logical operation means 16 to the transmission path only after receiving the synchronization signal, and a receiving means for receiving the communication data transmitted through this transmission path.
14, a logic signal discriminating means 18 for discriminating received communication data and a synchronizing signal, and a logical operation means 16 having the following means whose operation timing is determined by the synchronizing signal from the synchronizing signal discriminating means 18, that is, a terminal Data from the terminal device by connecting the device and the transmitting means 13 to the data converting means 21 for converting the data into distinguishable data, the data decoding means 22 for decoding the communication data received from the receiving means 14, the data from the data decoding means 22 Display output means 23 for outputting to a display device for displaying, a means 24 for deciding whether to output to the terminal equipment based on the data from the data decoding means 22 and a means 24 for deciding whether to output to the terminal equipment Data output means 25 for outputting data to the terminal device only in the case, means 17 for storing in advance a frame end signal indicating the end of communication,
A means 19 for outputting to the transmitting means 13 a frame end signal stored after a predetermined time from the synchronization signal from the synchronization signal discriminating means 18, a frame end signal of the received communication data and a frame end signal stored in advance. Is a communication device comprising means 26 for comparing with and judging the suitability of the frame end signal.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1a, a plurality of communication devices 1a, 1a, 1
, b, 1c, 1d, 1e, ... Are connected to one common transmission line 3, and each communication device 1 has a terminal device 51a, 51b, 51, respectively.
In the HA system to which c, 51d, 51e, ... Are connected, the data 4 to be communicated on the one common transmission line 3
There data b _0, b _1, respectively, as shown in Figure 1 b can take two values, and consist · · · · bn, 1 bit for the terminal device 51a of the data 4, 51b, 51c, 51d, 51e ...
··· Corresponding to one of the functions, one of the two values is set to operate that function, and the other is set to stop the operation, and as shown in FIG. Data 4 and frame end signal 6 transmitted from each communication device
And are treated in time series, and all communication devices 1a, 1b, 1c,
Even if 1d, 1e ...
a, 51b, 51c, 51d, 51e ...
Alternatively, which terminal device 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d, 51e ...
.. can be discriminated whether or not they are operating, and each communication device takes the logical sum of all frame end signals 6 received at the same time to check the time lag from the synchronization signal.

In the device, a synchronization signal 2 that determines the start of signal transmission
As the synchronizing signal generating means 11 for generating the signal at constant time intervals, it is possible to use a generally known frequency dividing circuit in which an oscillating circuit and a logic gate are combined. Also, when using a microcomputer, it is possible to use a clock signal that is the reference of its operation and to configure it by using a frequency divider circuit that combines logic gates in hardware. You can also In order to distinguish the synchronization signal 2 from the communication data 4, the synchronization signal 2 is changed to a signal having a different level from the signal of the communication data 4, a special code is used, or a modulation different from the signal data is used.

As the switching means 12 for determining whether or not the synchronization signal 2 from the synchronization signal generating means 11 can be transmitted prior to the communication data 4, any switch can be used as long as it is used as a switch. It is assumed that this switch is closed and used only in the one used as the communication controller among the plurality of communication devices 1 connected to the one transmission path 3, and is not closed in the other communication devices 1. Any means may be used instead of this switch as long as it is not connected on the circuit.

The transmitting means 13 for transmitting the communication data 4 from the logical operation means 16 to the transmission line only after receiving the synchronization signal 2 is:
The communication data 4 is temporarily stored and the parallel-serial converter for outputting the communication data 4 in time series by the input of the synchronization signal 2 and the output from the parallel-serial converter are directly converted into the voltage. Any of a circuit that handles as a signal, a circuit that converts to an optical signal, and a circuit that converts to a tone burst wave can be used. Alternatively, the communication data 4 may be temporarily stored and a program may be built in the logical operation means 16 to perform the function in order to output the communication data 4 in time series by inputting the synchronization signal 2. Each structure is not particularly limited as long as it is currently used.

As the reception signal 14 for receiving the communication data 4 transmitted to this transmission line, a signal from the transmission means 13 is used as an optical transmission line photocoupler, a circuit for demodulating a tone burst wave, or a voltage signal as it is. One of the receiving circuits used and communication data 4 received by the receiving circuit
Of the serial-to-parallel converter for converting the time series data into parallel data that can be easily handled and temporarily storing the parallel data. In this case, in order to convert the communication data 4 received by the receiving circuit from time-series data into parallel data which is easy to handle and temporarily store it, a program is built in the logical operation means 16 to perform its function. If each configuration is currently in use, then
There is no particular limitation.

Synchronous signal discriminating means for discriminating communication data 4 from synchronous signal 2
As shown in FIG. 3A, a comparator 18 is used as a comparator which, when the levels of the synchronizing signal 2 and the data 4 are different, compares with a reference level matched to each threshold level. Also, as shown in FIG. 3b, when signals of the same level and special codes are used,
A circuit for decoding the code or a program provided in the logical operation means 16 is used. Alternatively, if the signal data is modulated differently, a circuit for demodulating only the modulation is used.

From the data conversion means 21, which connects the terminal device and the transmission means 13 and converts the data from the terminal equipment into the distinguishable data, the data decoding means 22 for decoding the communication data received from the receiving means 14, and the data decoding means 22 Display output means 23 for outputting to a display device for displaying data, means 24 for deciding whether to output to the terminal equipment based on the data from the data decoding means 22, and means 24 for deciding whether to output to the terminal equipment.
As the logical operation means 16 including the data output means 25 that outputs data to the terminal device only when output is possible,
Usually, a computer device, especially a microcomputer is used, and each data is handled as a digital signal. Data conversion means 2
1, the data decoding means 22, the display output means 23, the means 24 for determining whether to output to the terminal equipment, and the data output means 25 for outputting data to the terminal equipment are performed by each input / output function of the microcomputer and software.

The above is the device described in the application previously filed by the applicant of the present application, but as a feature of the present invention, further, means 17 for pre-storing a frame end signal indicating the end of communication, synchronization from the synchronization signal discriminating means 18 A means 19 for outputting the frame end signal stored after a certain time from the signal to the transmitting means 13,
The means 26 for comparing the frame end signal of the received communication data with the frame end signal stored in advance to determine the suitability of the frame end signal is provided in the logical operation means 16.

Means 17 for storing in advance a frame end signal indicating the end of communication
A semiconductor storage element, a magnetic recording element, or the like can be used as the transmission means 13 for transmitting the frame end signal stored after a predetermined time from the synchronization signal from the synchronization signal discriminating means 18.
As the means 19 for outputting to, the timer function of the microcomputer and the input / output function can be configured, and the frame end signal of the received communication data is compared with the frame end signal stored in advance to determine the suitability of the frame end signal. As the means 26 for performing, a logical operation function of a microcomputer can be used. At this time, if the frame end signal stored in advance and the received frame end signal do not match, it means that the time relationship between the signals is incorrect somewhere during the transmission and reception, and the data transmission / reception was not properly performed. Further, as the means 28 for discriminating the suitability of the frame end signal 6, a clock signal using a frequency dividing circuit in which an oscillating circuit and a logic gate are combined, or, in the case of using a microcomputer, a clock signal as a reference of its operation. It is also possible to compare the lapse of time from the synchronization signal with the frame end signal 6 by a frequency divider circuit using a combination of logic gates configured by using a hardware or a timer using a clock signal for similar operation.

For example, the frame end signal 6 is input to the integrator circuit, the output thereof and the output of the timer are used as the input of the gate circuit, and two circuits are used that can obtain the output only at a certain time depending on the threshold level, and set the time. It can also be adjusted so that communication is within a reliable range.

In this way, when the frame end signal 6 is not within a certain time from the synchronization signal, as shown by the dotted line in FIG.
By controlling the means 24 for deciding whether to output to the terminal device to stop the control of the terminal device and waiting for the next signal, the communication data deviated from the synchronization signal can be invalidated.

(Operation) According to the present invention, the communication deviated from the synchronization signal is invalidated by the method and the configuration of the communication device described below. Therefore, the operation of some terminal devices is stopped and started by selecting from a plurality of terminal devices. In addition, it is possible to freely leave it unattended, and it is possible to improve the reliability of communication between the plurality of controllers and the plurality of terminal devices.

Example To generate a synchronization signal that determines the start of signal transmission at regular time intervals, a clock signal is taken out from the clock circuit of the one-chip microcomputer HD401010 (Hitachi, Ltd., trade name), and the synchronization signal generation circuit Was connected to the output of the sync signal generation circuit using a snap switch to determine whether or not to transmit the data prior to the communication data. This switch is connected to the synchronization signal input terminal of the transmission circuit and is used only when the communication device is used as the communication controller of the HA system. In addition, the transmission circuit, the reception circuit of the communication device other than the communication controller,
The power supply of the sync signal discrimination circuit is used by rectifying and smoothing the sync signal from the communication controller. When the communication device is not used as a communication controller, the synchronization signal extracted by the synchronization signal discrimination circuit determines the timing of transmission and reception.

As a transmission circuit for transmitting the transmission data to the transmission line only after receiving the synchronization signal, a part of the user work area of the memory in the one-chip microcomputer is used as a memory for temporarily storing the transmission data. Use this command to move the data output to the accumulator of the CPU in the microcomputer at the falling edge of the sync signal, move the data in the accumulator up bit by bit, and move the most significant bit to the least significant bit (left The shift instruction) and the instruction to output to a specific address Q are alternately repeated, and the uppermost address Q is connected to the data input terminal of the transmission circuit.

Also, as a serial-to-parallel converter for reception, the received serial data is put in the lowest position of another specific address N, all other places are set to 0, and data is transferred from that address to the accumulator of the CPU in the microcomputer. Instruction to
An instruction (left shift instruction) that moves the data in the accumulator to the upper bit by one bit and moves the least significant bit to the most significant bit, the moved data and the address N next.
The serial data is converted into parallel data by a program by combining it with the instruction that takes the logical sum of the serial data with all other places set to 0.

As a receiving circuit for receiving the communication data transmitted to this transmission line, the communication data that follows is detected by detecting the falling edge of the synchronization signal that is discriminated by the comparator that has the inverting input terminal connected to the transmission line. The frame end signal is stored in the shift register as a serial-parallel converter for converting the time series data into parallel data that is easy to handle and temporarily storing it through a comparator that uses 2.5V as the reference voltage. The data is stored in an area different from the area for storing the transmission data of the one-chip microcomputer by detecting the rising edge of the synchronization signal after the storage.

In the controller, many switches such as a keyboard are arranged in a matrix, and an address selector is connected so that one address can be selected for one of the lines in the column,
I made it so that the output would appear on the line of the line when the address was sequentially swept by the program and the switch was pressed. Data to be transmitted was created by a program that changes the state of only the bit corresponding to the function of the terminal device for controlling by transferring the signal from the line in that row to the memory built in the microcomputer.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the data to be transmitted is always added with the data of 1,0,1 at the end, and this is used as the end frame signal. Therefore, when data is received, it is always 1,0,1 at the end.
However, if the synchronization signal and the time elapse of the device are deviated in any one of the devices, the transmission path is wired OR as shown in FIG. 4b.
It can be 1,0,0 or 0,0,1 and the program can proceed to the next step only if the software has a frame end signal of 1,0,1 in the microcomputer. In other cases, since the processing is stopped until the next synchronization signal, the communication data deviated from the synchronization signal can be invalidated.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention provides a communication method and device that can increase the communication speed between a plurality of controllers and a plurality of terminal devices and can improve the reliability of data. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1a is a block diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention,
FIG. 1b is a diagram showing the structure of data for explaining the principle of the present invention, FIG. 1c is a diagram showing the relationship between synchronization signals and data for explaining the principle of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication device according to the invention, FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an outline of the device used in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4a is each communication device when communication is normal in one embodiment of the present invention. 4 shows waveforms of signals in FIG. 4, FIG. 4b shows waveforms of signals in each communication device when communication is not normal in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a communication device showing a conventional example. Is. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication device, 2 ... Synchronization signal 3 ... Transmission path, 4 ... Communication data 6 ... Frame end signal 11 ... Synchronization signal generating means 12 ... Switching means, 13 ... Sending means 14 ...... Reception means, 16 …… Logical operation means 17 …… Storing the frame end signal 18 …… Synchronization signal discrimination means 19 …… Sending the frame end signal 21 …… Data conversion means 22 …… Data decoding Means 23 …… Means for outputting to the display device 24 …… Means for deciding whether to output to the terminal equipment 25 …… Data output means 26 …… Means for judging suitability of the frame end signal

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A synchronization signal generating means (11) for generating a synchronization signal for determining the start of signal transmission / reception at regular time intervals, and a synchronization signal from the synchronization signal generating means (11) prior to communication data. Switching means (12) for deciding whether to send or not
And a transmitting means (13) for transmitting communication data from the logical operation means (16) to the transmission line only after receiving the synchronization signal.
From the receiving means (14) for receiving the communication data transmitted to this transmission path, the synchronization signal discriminating means (18) for discriminating the received communication data from the synchronization signal, and the synchronization signal discriminating means (18). Logic operation means (16) having the following means, the operation timing of which is determined by the synchronization signal of the terminal, that is, data for connecting the terminal equipment and the transmission means (13) and converting the data from the terminal equipment into the distinguishable data Conversion means (21), data decoding means (22) for decoding communication data received from the receiving means (14), data decoding means (22)
Display output means (23) for outputting the data from the device to the display device, means (24) for deciding whether to output to the terminal device based on the data from the data decoding means (22), and output to the terminal device. Data output means (25) for outputting data to the terminal device only when output is possible by means (24) for determining availability, means (17) for storing a frame end signal indicating the end of communication in advance, and synchronization signal discrimination means (18) (19) for outputting the frame end signal accumulated after a certain time from the synchronization signal from (1) to the transmitting means (13), the frame end signal of the received communication data and the frame end signal stored in advance. A communication device comprising means (26) for comparing with and determining the suitability of a frame end signal.